Wow, we have been off WordPress for a number of years now haven’t we. Seems that Linda got burned out doing the majority of the posting and I just didn’t pick up the slack.

We continued to pay our subscription just in case we wanted to drop off Facebook and I think that was a good choice.

We are still here in West Virginia and still living off the grid as before with very little change to the configuration.

We did put up a small wind generator out here. Seems a 400 watt generator was not near big enough to be much of a value. It was more like a trickle charger to the battery bank. Also last spring it was struck by lightning and we have not lowered it down or even ordered the new circuit card.

I may start this blog up again. We will see.

Sonny

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There are spring beginnings all around us here at Pot Hole Farm. The daffodils are in bloom and we noticed small buds forming on tree branches. The bluebird is checking out the bird house and our annual Phoebe is rebuilding her nest on the gutter downspout. A few days ago Sonny was able to plow the garden and today we planted two rows of kale and a row of mixed lettuce greens.

We finally built the turkeys a house and pen last week and not a minute too soon. Our turkey girl made herself a nest in the soft hay and laid her first egg. Its not much bigger than a chicken egg, but give the girl a break its her first.

Turkey egg is the white egg.

Well we bit the bullet and invested in an outdoor wood furnace to heat the house. We finally got tired of the smoke the indoor wood stove liked puff out every time we tried to reload it with wood. Both of us grew up with wood stoves and a little puff of smoke is normal, but these new EPA regulated stoves are horrible. We are not the first to have this problem and have read complaints on other blogs. This outside wood furnace should do the trick. I know some of you are curious to know how this furnace works so Sonny will do an update later and will be able to answer any questions you may have. You would only be confused if I attempted to explain it.

Outdoor wood furnace is only set in place. There is much more that needs to be done.

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The date on the calendar may say its spring time, but we are already getting prepared for next winter. Our first year making maple syrup taught us that the evaporator is an insatiable beast when it comes to its favorite fuel. Wood. The furnace consumes the wood logs in the same manner a dog scarfs a chunk of steak and then looks for more.

We hope to get about ten cords of wood stored and set aside for the evaporator. Our house is heated by a wood stove too, so we will need to cut another three to four cords for it.

There is a stand of trees in our east pasture that we have wanted to clear out, so that is where we have begun our wood harvest. Sonny fell one tree yesterday and then another today. We cut the trunks up into rounds and have temporarily stacked them on the wood racks. Later we will use the log splitter to split them and then replace them in the racks to dry over the summer. They should be ready to use by next winter.

Wood rounds waiting to be split.

The weather is still cool and perfect for wood cutting. Better to get the majority of it done now before the temps rise. Its no fun cutting wood when its sweltering and the last thing you want to think about is fire. Thats homestead life. You are always preparing for the season ahead.

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Thanks to everyone who has already purchased their syrup so far. We have had a few days here where it has been too cold for sap to run so we were able to orders sent out. Now is the time to order. I think we will have another sap run this Saturday.

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Well we are still at it around the farm. I was in the sugar shack until nearly 1a.m. last night. Last night it got down to freezing so that will be good for the Maple trees. It is snowing here this morning and I’m not sure when it will warm up again to allow the trees to start the sap flowing again.

Before the sun went down

We are going to try to head into town this morning. The county has been working on the 6 mile dirt road that we live on for the last 2 weeks. There has been some soft side areas in places and they are working to reenforce the edges to keep if from moving down the hill.

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We just finished up bottling our last couple runs of pure Maple Syrup. Email me at hgjobe@gmail.com if you would like me to mail them out to you. The cost is $12.95 per Pint plus mail costs. PayPal works best or Our-WV webpage. Get it while it lasts.

Note: We intend to ship on Wednesdays of each week.

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My Off-Grid Photo's

Sonny and Linda

We are on an adventure learning the ropes of starting a small farm, being self-sufficient and living in a 100 percent off-the-grid solar powered home. We'll share the ups and downs of raising chickens, pigs, growing a garden, and life in general, all with a twist of humor thrown in for good measure.